Brother-In-Law
by kittygirl2010
Summary: When Alex gets to finally meet the brother of his wife, he's asked a very obvious question and learns a lot more about his brother-in-law than he thought he would. Rated T for some language.


"Brother-In-Law"

It was a day like any other, as per usual in a small town like Pelican Town, and Alex was cleaning his workout station.

The sound of the front door opened and with it a fit of giggles as the familiar voice of his wife echoed through the house.

"Alex?!" she called.

"Everything alright?!" Alex yelled back, smiling at how happy she was.

He heard an excited giggle echo from the kitchen. "Something like that!" she called.

Alex raised an eyebrow, an amused smirk stretching across his face. "What did you do?!"

He could almost hear her gasp of surprise as he chuckled. With one last wipe of a paper towel across his weight bench, he walked into the kitchen. He was greeted by his wife as she glared at him with puffed out cheeks.

He couldn't help but laugh. "I'm kidding."

Jayda rolled her eyes and held up a piece of paper. "You remember my brother, Jayden?"

Alex nodded.

She had mentioned him in multiple conversations, but Alex never bothered asking about him other than those few times. All he really knew about him was that he was her twin brother and that he had a very successful job in the city.

When Jayda had found out that he couldn't make it to the wedding, she was devastated. She simply smiled it off at the time though, saying 'It can't be helped ' and 'Work keeps him busy, as usual, it's fine.'

It really wasn't though.

"He's coming to Stardew Valley for a visit!" she yelled, almost crumbling up the letter in her hands.

A bit of uneasiness crept up Alex's spine. "Really?" he asked.

Jayda's expression as she stared at the piece of paper made Alex smile in nostalgia, remembering the first time he met her.

"I can't wait for you to meet him!" she squealed in excitement. "Though, a bit of a warning, he's kind of an instigator." she laughed.

"Oh?" he questioned with his head tilted to the side.

She nodded. "It's always been that way whenever I dated anyone….let alone marry." she puts both hands on her hips as she cocks one hip to the side. "I'm sure he's chopping at the bit to get down here."

"I'm sure." he chuckled nervously. "When is he getting here?"

"This weekend! I-"

A knock on the door interrupted her response. Both Jayda and Alex looked at each other and then to the door.

Jayda walked over and opened the door. A loud squeal escaped her lips as she hopped onto the man in the doorway.

"You asshole!" Jayda jested with glee. "You said that you wouldn't be here until the weekend!"

An amused laugh echoed from the doorway. "It's the weekend already, sis. I'm sure you've been too busy running the farm to notice." a voice replied.

"Haha, quit being a smart ass and come inside." she said irritably.

The young man that entered the room made eye contact with Alex. The resemblance was almost scary. Brown hair, green eyes, and a smile that was almost criminal to say the least.

"Honey, this is my twin brother Jayden." Jayda addressed, putting a hand on her brother's back.

Alex stuck out his hand. "Alex, nice to meet you finally." he greeted.

"Likewise." Jayden replied, grabbing Alex's hand tight. He smiles as he looks down at their hands. "Quite the grip you've got there, man." he grins.

"Haha, gotta have a strong one to hold on to a gridball like your life depends on it, I suppose."

"Gridball, huh? We ought to throw a few passes before my visit's over." Jayden grinned.

Jayda rolled her eyes. "Oh, lord, here we go."

"What?" Jayden shrugged. "He's making a good first impression so far, sis. Any fellow gridball player is automatically gonna get some brownie points from me."

"You played too?" Alex asked.

Jayden nodded. "All through middle and high school." he pauses a moment to put a hand to his chin. "Hell, I think I even played on a little league team as a kid, come to think of it."

He puts a hand on his sister's head. "And this one use to cheer me on at every game!" he grins. "Between her and my grandpa, their voices always seemed to rise above the rest of the crowd."

Jayda blushed, making Alex smirk in amusement.

"Let me take your bags to the guest room before you embarrass me any further." Jayda teased, picking up his duffle bag.

"It's alright, sis, I can take them."

Jayda scoffed. "Over my newly toned farmer's body."

"Oh, really?!" he laughed out, running over towards her.

Jayda squealed in surprise as Jayden dug both hands into her sides and began to tickle her.

"Ah! Stop!" she half squealed and half cried. "You know -haha- I hate it when you- haha- do that!

After a few moments, Jayden finally stopped and let his sister take his bags.

"Man, haven't done that in a while." he chuckled.

Alex smiled, shaking his head. "Seems you two get along quite well. You don't see that too often with siblings."

"I think it's merely the fact that we're twins, the connection is a little stronger, y'know?"

Alex nodded. "Oh, I believe it."

There were a few moments of silence before the rumbling of Jayden's stomach broke it.

"Man, where can a guy get some grub around here." he groaned as he stretched.

"I can fix something for you." Jayda offered as she walked back into the room.

"Pass." Jayden replied bluntly.

Jayda smacked his arm. "For your information, I can cook now, asshole."

"Since when?!" Jayden jested. "I'd rather not have those rock hard pieces of coal you called biscuits!"

"That was _one_ time!" she yelled irritably. "Shut up!"

The two siblings continued to squabble and Alex couldn't help but laugh. It began to make sense now, after all the stories Jayda told him about her brother. While he was annoying and loved to tease, he was a good person and irritatingly overprotective.

Would her brother be overprotective when it came to him?

 _Probably._ Alex thought, answering his own question.

"Honey, are you okay?" Jayda asked him, breaking Alex from his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking." he answered.

The two siblings looked to each other then back to Alex, shrugging.

"Well, if you two would excuse me, I have some business to attend to at Robin's. I'll be back home later." she smiled. She leaned in and hugged her brother. "I'm glad you're here, Jayden, we'll catch up at Gus' saloon later."

"Saloon?" Jayden questioned with a raised eyebrow. "You living in the wild west, sis?"

Jayda playfully smacked his face. "Haha, very funny."

She walked over towards the door and put on her farming boots, tucking her jeans inside of them.

"Today's the day, honey." she smiled, putting her backpack on. "We finally have enough money saved up for a goat or two."

"Sounds great." Alex replied. "Will we be ready in time for winter?" he asked.

Jayda nodded. "I think so." she got up and stretched. "We have two silos full of grain and hay for the animals. I'm heading to Robin's so she can take a look at the heaters. We don't want those to break halfway through the season."

"That's a fair point."

Jayda opened the door and in ran Rusty, the family cat.

"You didn't tell me you had a cat, sis." Jayden commented, kneeling down to call Rusty over.

"Yes I did, in one of my letters." she told him.

"Hmm, guess I never got that one. The mail system in my apartment complex is a little unorganized." he smiles as Rusty walked over and started smelling his outstretched hand.

The cat looked up at Jayden and then back to his hand. Rusty rubbed his head along Jayden's hand and began to purr.

"I think he likes me." Jayden grinned.

"Rusty loves everyone….well, except for the owner of JoJa Mart."

"Everyone hated the owner of JoJa Mart." Alex corrected her. "He was such a crook."

Jayda looked up at the clock hanging on the kitchen wall and gasped.

"Shit, I got to get going. I'll meet you guys at the saloon later. Honey, why don't you give Jayden a tour around the farm and maybe go to town."

"Sounds like a good idea, babe." Alex nodded. He walked over to her and kissed her on the forehead. "Be careful if you take Argo out, her knee's been bothering her again."

Jayda nodded. "Yeah, poor girl. I'll have to get Marnie to come over and take a look at it." she takes her iconic straw hat and places it on her head as she opens the door. Turning around she gives her brother a stern look. "Be nice." she scolds, before finally leaving the house.

Jayden puffed out his cheeks, making Alex snicker. "What does that mean?" he questions, looking over at Alex.

Alex shrugged. "You're her brother, you tell me." he answers.

Alex puts a hand on Jayden's shoulder and ushers him to the door. "Come on, I'll show you around the farm."

000

"Wow, she's worked really hard on this place." Jayden sighs in awe after Alex showed him around.

Alex leaned against one of the fences and smiles, looking at the farm with pride.

"You should have seen it when she started." he chuckled. "Place was a mess!"

"I'm sure." Jayden replied, looking around. "I almost can't believe that my sister has become such a hard worker." he tilts his head. "Well, she's always been a hard worker, but for the wrong job."

Alex nodded. "Yeah…she's told me about that." he shook his head. "Working for JoJa….I can't even imagine what that 's like."

"I've had a few exchanges with the company…..nothing but a bunch of money grubbing jerk offs who only care about themselves." he spits in disgust to his right side. "Pieces of shit."

There were a few moments of awkward silence but were quickly broken.

"So, where is this saloon we're suppose to meet my sister at?" Jayden asked, changing the subject.

"In town, I'll take us there." Alex answered, pulling a weed growing near the fence. "A bit of a walk but not too bad."

There was no response and Alex looked up to see Jayden staring at him. He felt a little uneasy, probably because he knew Jayden was no doubt trying to figure him out.

"Everything alright?" Alex asked.

Jayden smirked. "Yeah….I think it is."

Alex tilted his head in confusion but nodded, throwing the now pulled up weed to the side. As he began leading Jayden to the road to town, Jayden grabbed the back of his jacket.

Alex was a bit taken aback as Jayden pulled him back.

"Let me ask you something." Jayden started, his demeanor changing a bit.

"Uh….sure?" Alex questioned uneasily.

"Do you love my sister?" he asked completely out of the blue.

Alex lifted his left hand, showing off the gold band around his finger. "I'm pretty sure you know the answer to that by now." he answered, giving Jayden a confused look.

"You married her, so what? Some people marry out of responsibility, or because they were forced…" His expression changes again. "Mistakes."

"Are you implying something?" Alex questioned, growing a little tense.

Jayden shook his head. "No….I just want an answer. An honest and truthful answer."

 _Jayda wasn't kidding about her brother being an instigator_. Alex thought uneasily.

Alex took a deep breath.

"I've loved your sister since the day I met her." he answered truthfully. "I chose her to dance with me at the Flower Dance over my best friend who I had practiced with for weeks." he blushes slightly. "I confessed my feelings to her at the end of summer the first year she was here, during the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies."

Jayden continued to listen, crossing his arms now and giving him a stern look.

"I rushed her to Harvey's clinic in the pouring rain when she passed out from overexertion while tending to crops. I urged her to grieve for her grandfather after years of her bottling it up!"

Alex lifted up his left hand again, the golden band glistening in the sun.

"I _married_ her because I _love_ her!" he yelled, now getting a little angry.

Alex sighs, trying to calm himself. "Your sister gave me the confidence to continue to work for my dream of going pro in gridball. She held me as I embarrassingly cried for my deceased mother."

He blushes profusely. "As stupid as this sounds, her smile makes my heart skip a beat and I fall in love with her all over again! She has been one of the only people to care about me as much as my grandparents do and I will never stop repaying her kindness!"

There was a moment of silence, nothing but the cool fall air surrounding the tension unfolding between two determined men.

"I love your sister….I've devoted my heart, body and soul to her and this ring proves that." he says calmly, holding up his hand once again. "Whatever you think of me….now you know just how much I love her." he chuckled. "Besides, there's not really much you can do to change it."

An agonizing amount of awkward tension followed his statement before Jayden responded in the most unexpected way.

 _He's….laughing?_ Alex thought, watching the young man bend over, hold his stomach, and laugh his ass off with tears in his eyes.

"Oh man! For a minute there I thought I was listening to something from one of those cheesy romance novels!" Jayden brayed, smacking the top of his forehead.

Alex blushed profusely in embarrassment. "W-what's so funny?!" he stuttered.

Jayden wiped tears from his eyes before walking up to Alex. He gave him a smack on the back and rested his arm cross Alex's shoulders. "Relax, I'm just teasin'." he said with a grin. "But in all honesty, I wasn't expecting any of that."

There was a moment of pause as Jayden stared at the ground. "My sister hardly tells me anything." he revealed, smiling a bit sadly. "Whenever something happens to her, she tends to bottle it up."

"Really?" Alex questioned. "She's been pretty open with me about stuff….I thought you two were close?"

Jayden walked over to the nearest fence and climbed onto it, sitting down.

"Don't get me wrong, we are close….and I can always tell when something is bothering her." he puts two fingers to his forehead. "Twin connection and all that."

Jayden looks up at the blue sky and closes his eyes. "But the truth is….I hardly know anything about her life here."

Alex remained silent as he stared at the young man atop the fence.

"She's been writing you every day…hasn't she told you about it?" he asked, a brow rising in confusion.

A cool, fall breeze blows across the farm as Jayden continues to stare up at the sky.

"I haven't gotten a single one of her letters."

Alex's eyes widen in surprise. "But….how?! That can't be possible!" he yells suddenly. "You got her wedding invitation, didn't you?!"

Jayden nodded. "I did…but only because a friend in the company managed to find it in the trash. I was so pissed off that they threw it out, I almost got fired."

Alex suddenly realized where this was going and stared at Jayden in disbelief.

"You…..you work for JoJa, don't you?" he asked.

A smirk stretched across Jayden's face. "Wow…you're smarter than I took you for." he lowers his head in shame. "Yes….I work for JoJa, but for reasons most people don't know about."

Jayden reaches into his coat pocket and pulls out a wallet. Opening it up, he revealed a shiny gold badge.

"You're a cop?!" Alex exclaimed, feeling like his head was going to explode.

Jayden nodded. "Yeah….I've been working undercover to dig up dirt on JoJa. You wouldn't believe the shit I've found out about them, but it's classified, so I can't."

 _Well, the whole instigating thing makes sense now._ Alex thought. _A freaking cop….great._

Jayden hopped off the fence and stretched out his arms. "JoJa doesn't allow it's employees to recieve mail for fear of giving up their business secrets. And since my sister just quit a job at JoJa, it's major priority in my case."

"Damn….I'm sorry. Why are you telling me this?" Alex asked with a raised brow.

"Because I need to….or else I'll go crazy." he punches his right fist into his left hand and grins. "Luckily for me, I only have to work there undercover for one more month, then the fun will begin to put them out of business for good."

"Amen to that." Alex added, walking over to smack Jayden on the back. "Wait….does your sister know you're a cop?"

Jayden shakes his head. "No….and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't tell her. I will once this shit with JoJa is over."

Alex nods in understanding. "Alright…I won't."

"Sorry about the interrogation….I just, needed to know what was so special about the guy my sister is now married to." he snorts out a laugh. "My sister, married! I can hardly believe it!"

Alex looks down at his watch and gasps. "We should go, it's time to meet Jayda at the saloon."

"Lead the way, little brother."

Alex stopped in his tracks and cringed slightly. "Um…you do realize we're the same age, right?"

Jayden shook his head, wrapping his arm around Alex's shoulders as they walked. "Nope."

Alex grew irritated. "Yes we are!" his voiced echoed through the farm.

Jayden laughed. "If you say so." he looked down at the frustrated jock and smiled. "You know….you're a pretty cool brother-in-law."

"Thanks…you aren't so bad yourself….when you're not a complete dick." Alex grinned, playfully elbowing him in the gut. "Wanna throw the gridball around later?" he asked.

Jayden smiled, pulling Alex closer as they walked. "Alex, my friend….this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship."

 _ **(Well, that happened. So I've been playing Stardew Valley religiously lately and wow-e-wow do I love it! So here's a little thing I did when I imagined that my farmer, Jayda, was a twin. Haha I hope you guys enjoyed it. Let me know what you guys thought in the comments and I may write some more Stardew Valley one-shots. ^.^)**_


End file.
